My pal Cindy

Good Grief! I’ve not blogged since Kenni was 14! Kenni just turned 17! Yikes! I’m blogging for my friend Cindy. Cindy is a fierce food blogger. She wants me to blog about food but I’m more of a generalist so today’s blog is going to be about Cindy. Well really it’s going to be about our friendship. I met Cindy when I was pregnant with Helen and she was pregnant with her son Eddie. She was much bigger I have to point out even though I was farther along. We met at the Loch Alpine Ladies tea. I cannot for the life of me remember why I went to that, why I would ever have gone to something like that. They had a string quartet and finger sandwiches for crying out loud. I hate both. I remember I wore a fancy blue velour dress but it was way too hot for velour. However you couldn’t wear sweatpants to something with a string quartet and finger sandwiches even if you were 7 months pregnant. Thank goodness I did go because it began a deep vital friendship if I had to find a media parallel think Lucy and Ethel. You know epic! Cindy was in the kitchen talking loudly about her vagina to women who she barely knew and I knew that I had found a kindred spirit. Our friendship was forged pushing our newborn children around our neighborhood. We would get just about as far away from our homes as we could be and then either Helen or Eddie would go off in that newborn cacophony of wailing and we would race back for home. We were in great shape. We cooked together, we canned together, we went wild foraging, we made maple syrup when I had cracked ribs, we attended la leche league meetings, we worried about our children’s development, and of course we complained about our husbands. I think I read somewhere that complaining about your man is the yeast that makes women’s friendship rise. We had 5 years of stroller pushing, salsa canning, cosmo drinking, man whining about and then disaster, we had to move away. We moved from Michigan to NY. I thought oh no we’ll talk a lot and then less often and then rarely and then we’ll just exchange Christmas cards and that will be it Christmas card friends. My fears were not realized. My mom said not to worry she said that we would be friends forever and that distance never hurt a true friendship. My mom was right.
Cindy and I talk most days sometimes multiple times a day. Conversations begin like this: what are you making for dinner, how did that roast turn out last night? I think I’m getting really really old. Did you go to the doctor yet? Why not? Can you believe he said this? I am just so mad? You won’t believe this; she deleted my post on the facebook! (We call facebook “the facebook” because we are old) Get this; she whined that she had too much homework to help! I’m going walking; if I were there I’d go with you.
We occasionally get together. We have met several times in lovely Erie PA to cavort at Splash lagoon. Okay the kids are cavorting while we drink overpriced fruity drinks. Most recently Kenni my eldest and I drove out to attend Cindy’s Dad’s funeral. Cindy’s dad was a character. He always knew a good dirty joke to share. Cindy adored him. The after lunch was held at the Knight’s of Columbus same place they had Cindy’s mom’s after funeral lunch. I was excited to be back at the Knight’s of Columbus because they always serve stuffed cabbage and I never get to have that. Cindy and I discussed each food choice and reminisced about her Dad.

So any who Cindy is the queen of food blogs and I mean the queen and she is having a food blog contest. She is doing the blog challenge and wants a recipe each month featuring a particular herb or spice. This month it’s rosemary so I offer my pork roast recipe. I don’t measure stuff mostly so my recipes are bit surreal.

Get a nice large pork loin roast. If its one of those that actually comes apart in two pieces its the perfect choice.

Get a can of pears (unsweetened if possible ) reserve the juice, and smash the pears into mush with a potato masher I work through a lot of aggression doing this
Chop a clove or two of garlic
Get a tablespoon of chopped rosemary (I use dried usually)
You can also add in a tablespoon of sage and one of thyme
Mix it all together and slather it in between the two roast halves and tie the thing together. Rub a little all over the outside.

Put the reserved pear juice into the bottom of the pan with some water to cover the pan. This will make the best gravy of your life. Watch that this does not evaporate and burn. Add more water as needed.

Cook at whatever temp you like to cook pork roasts I usually pre-heat the oven on broil and then drop it down to 335 and cook until its done. (I use a meat thermometer). I like my meat incinerated, my husband likes it too juicy so this will usually cause some sort of altercation.


Also make some sauerkraut and apple sauce. If you get a large roast you can have sandwiches for a couple days, and those will be really good too.